Sarah Niles | Through the Shattered Lens

I have to admit that I groaned when Marvel’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps opened with a title card informing me that it was taking place on “Earth-828.”

You have to understand that all of the multiverse nonsense is the one of the main things that led to me losing interest in both the Marvel and the DC films. The idea that there are multiple Earths out there and they’ve all got different versions of the same heroes and villains just feels incredibly lazy to me. It’s like a get out of jail free card. If you make a bad movie, you can just claim that it was took place on another Earth. If a character dies on one Earth, it doesn’t really matter because there’s another version out there. What are the actual stakes when there’s a million different Earths to choose from? For that matter, if I’m presumably living on Earth-1, why should I care about Earth-828? Earth-828 has nothing to do with me.

Imagine my surprise, then, when one of the best things about the film was that it turned out to be that it was taking place on an alternate Earth, one that mixes the culture of the 1960s with advanced technology and a retro-futuristic style. This is a rare Marvel film that is enjoyable just to look at. The production design is top-notch, mixing the past with the future in a very playful way. As much as I dislike the whole multiverse thing, Earth-828 does seem like it would be a fun place to visit.

Earth-828 has advanced technology because of its only team of super heroes, the Fantastic Four. Fortunately, Marvel seems to understand that 1) origin stories tend to be bland in general and 2) viewers have already had to sit through two disappointing and presumably unrelated Fantastic Four films that centered around them getting their powers. So, First Steps opens with the team having already taken their trip into space, the one that led to them returning with altered DNA. Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) can stretch himself. His wife, Susan Storm Richards (Vanessa Kirby), can turn invisible and knock things around with …. invisibility rays, I guess. Susan’s brother, Johnny (Joseph Quinn), can burst into flame and fly. (Wow, DNA is amazing!) And their friend, Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), has skin that has been transformed into a layer of orange rock. Ben can knock holes in walls but he can’t seem to get the world to understand that there is an intelligent and kind-hearted soul underneath the fearsome exterior. The citizens of Earth-828 are worshipful of the Fantastic Four and the team has ushered in an era of peace.

When a naked silver woman on a surfboard (Julia Garner) appears in Times Square, she announces that Earth has been selected as the latest feast for Galactus (Ralph Ineson), a giant creature who is so powerful that he must consume planets in order to satisfy his appetite. Galactus offers to spare Earth but only if he is given Reed and Susan’s baby, Franklin. Galactus says that Franklin possesses the “power cosmic,” which is something that I assume we’re going to be hearing a lot about over the next few MCU films.

As far as later phase Marvel productions are concerned, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is an entertaining-enough film. Vanessa Kirby is a bit on the dull side as Sue but it should be noted that, in all of the various film versions of The Fantastic Four, Sue has always been the least interesting member of the group. Pascal is likable as Reed, even if his stretchy superpower feels a bit silly. Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Joseph Quinn both give strong performances, with Quinn especially bringing some depth to a character who, in lesser hands, could come across as being shallow. Ralph Ineson is a properly intimidating villain and Julia Garner has just the right amount of sad-eyed intensity for the role of the morally ambiguous Silver Surfer. The film looks great, the retro style holds the viewer’s attention, and there are a few moments of genuine wit that harken back to the best moments of the 1st phase of the MCU. That said, it’s hard to ignore that this is yet another Marvel movie where the whole thing ends with a fairly predictable battle and a healthy dose of Dues Ex Machina. The film is entertaining but it definitely sticks to the established MCU formula.

The film ends with a mid-credits scene and a promise that the story will continue in Avengers: Doomsday. I wonder what Earth that one will take place on.

“Do they have the car?”

“We have the driver.”

Those two lines of dialogue, uttered towards the end of the film, pretty much sums up F1, a terrifically entertaining movie about Formula One racing.

Brad Pitt stars as Sonny Hayes, a former FI prodigy who, in the early 90s, suffered a traumatic crash at the Spanish Grand Prix. The crash nearly killed him and it temporarily ended his career as an F1 driver. Sonny has spent the past thirty years as a drifter, gambler, and as a race car driver for hire. He lives in a van and is haunted by nightmares of his crash. When he wakes up in the morning, he groans as he stretches his tattooed, beat-up, but still muscular body. He dunks his face in a sink full of ice. He’s aging but he hasn’t surrendered just yet. The film opens with Sonny helping to win the 24 Hours of Daytona race. After his victory, he’s approached by his former teammate, Ruben (Javier Bardem). Ruben is in charge of the APEXGP F1 team. He needs a driver to partner with the young and arrogant Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris). Sonny agrees, though only after Ruben asks if Sonny wants a chance to show that he’s the best in the world. Sonny may be one of the oldest guys on the track but he’s still got something to prove.

If F1 came out in 80s, the 90s, or even the Aughts, it would be viewed as a well-made but predictable racing film, one in which a fairly by-the-numbers script was held together by Brad Pitt’s overwhelming charisma and Joseph Kosiniski’s kinetic direction. And that certainly is a legitimate way to view the film in 2025. On the other hand, coming after both the scoldy Woke Era and the authoritarian COVID Era, a film that celebrates competing without guilt, that says that it’s more fun to win than to lose, and which doesn’t apologize for embracing a culture of driving fast and breaking the rules feels almost revolutionary. Just as he did with Top Gun: Maverick, director Joseph Kosinski reminds the audience that it’s okay to be entertained. Not everything has to be a struggle session. Not everything has to be a rejection of the things that once made you happy. F1 is a film that invites you to cheer without guilt or shame.

It’s a good film, one that is full of exciting racing scenes and gasp-inducing crashes. After both this film and Top Gun: Maverick, there’s little doubt that director Joseph Kosinski knows how to harness the power of Hollywood’s few true movie stars. That said, as good as Brad Pitt is, Damson Idris is equally impressive, playing Joshua, a young driver who learns that there’s more to being a great driver than just getting good press. When we first meet Joshua, he’s young and cocky and arrogant and one thing that I respect about the film is that, even after Joshua learns the importance of teamwork and trust, he’s still more than a little cocky. He never stops believing in himself. He doesn’t sacrifice his confidence on the way to becoming the best. Though the film is definitely on Sonny’s side when it comes to their early conflicts (one can practically here the film saying, “Put down your phone, you young whippersnapper!”), it’s smart enough to not make Joshua into a caricature. Instead, he’s just a young man trying to balance celebrity and talent. Kerry Condon also gives a good performance as APEX’s technical director, though her romance with Sonny does feel a bit tacked on. (Far too often, whenever a female character says that she’s not looking for a relationship, movies refuse to take her word for it.)

When I first heard about F1, I have to admit that I wondered if Kosinski was deliberately following up the Top Gun sequel with a remake of Days of Thunder.It is true that F1 does have a lot in common with other racing films but, in the end, it doesn’t matter. Brad Pitt’s star turn and Joseph Kosinski’s direction makes F1 into an absolutely thrill ride and one of the best of 2025.